Following the two-day National Cycling Championships this weekend, the nation’s best cyclists will be on their saddles again on Monday competing for lucrative cash prizes in the 10th annual Roraima Bikers Club and NAMILCO Caricom Day ‘Wheat-Up’ Cycling Classic.
In excess of $260,000 in prize money will be up for grabs for the 12-race event scheduled to pedal of at 09:00hrs at the Seawall Bandstand Circuit with the winner of the feature Wheat-Up Classic 30-lap race pocketing $30,000 and a trophy.
During the formal launch of the annual event yesterday at the (National Milling Company) NAMILCO head office in Eccles, president of the Roraima Bikers Club (RBC) and organizer of the meet Brian Allen stated that this year’s event will be different in a positive way.
“This year will be a year of difference,” said a smiling Allen. “We would normally have the race on the public road but we will be taking the event to the seawall bandstand for obvious reasons”.
Why the Seawall Bandstand? “We want to give more mileage to the sport and cyclists need to be more exposed and the bandstand will attract more spectators,” Allen explained.
“For far too long spectators are deprived of seeing high quality cycling in Guyana and we have been doing well in the Caribbean for a number of years and we need to give our talented cyclists that exposure,” he added.
The RBC president thanked NAMILCO for once again sponsoring the cycling classic and also told media operatives that the winner of the Wheat-Up Classic will also receive one year’s supply of Wheat Up.
Allen also called for a velodrome for the locals to train and compete on.
In brief remarks, Finance Controller of the milling giant, Fitzroy McLeod declared that it was NAMILCO’s pleasure to sponsor the races and opined that the change of venue will be a plus for the annual Caricom Day event.
“It is pleasure for NAMILCO to be once again involved in this event and the innovations brought about for this year’s staging will be more entertaining, people can really get involved in,” McLeod added.
“We are very pleased that we will be increasing the prize money and we certainly think the strides that are taken will go a long way and will attractive to the average spectator.”
Seniors, juniors, females as well as riders as young as six (BMX six to nine, two- lap event) and older than 50 years (veterans over 50, five-lap event) will compete for top honours on Monday.
The top six in the feature event and the first three finishers in the other 11 races will cart off cash and trophies.
Last year’s winners were Robin Persaud (senior), Raynauth Jeffrey (junior), Talim Shaw (veteran), Hazina Barrett (female) and Michael De Rouche (Mountain Bikes).
